Episode Summary

The FBI gets involved after a woman appear to be struck by lightning near a defunct military base, and soon have more bodies on their hands. Alan gives Amita a special gift to welcome her to the family.

Amusing. Entertaining. But an odd underlying plot element.

I enjoyed this episode. The X-files and Scooby Doo references were great, and both Floyd Mayborne and Ottobahn added loads of character as guest stars. Probably worth a rewatch just for the glances and expressions between team members anytime Mayborne "materialized" or spoke.

I confess to slight disbelief (even in context) regarding the impending government shutdown facing the company, and Mayborne's comments about wasted "national security" funding. All this because the demonstrably operable weapon supposedly wasn't yet sufficiently "less lethal"? True, it wasn't yet performing to spec, buuuut ...Somehow I have trouble imaging a defense contractor losing DARPA funding because it "merely" (however accidentally) creates a devastating, accurate, blender-sized drone-mounted rechargeable lightning death ray with both anti-personnel and -vehicle utility that leaves no forensic evidence of its use. That seems like the sort of interval achievement that might, maybe, normally merit a contract extension from the Pentagon. But perhaps it's just me. :)moreless

Don and the team look into a possible alien encounter at a supposedly abandoned military installation.

I recently read in "Entertainment Weekly" that the ratings for "Numb3rs" are down 18% from last year. After seeing this episode, I can understand why. This is one of the most ludicrous episodes I ever seen of any series. The list of flaws is numerous. The lame brained conspiracy theorists we see at the beginning are the best example. They are a very good example of just how stupid humans can be. The next example is John Michael Higgins' character. I'm still trying to figure out why the producers felt that having his character "appear" was a good idea. Awful.moreless

The team investigate a possible alien mystery in an episode with X-files flavor. Actually, I've given it a 10! Perfect!

I want Floyd back!!! Bring Floyd back!!! What a wonderful character, full of charm, mischief, mystery, and humor! He should be a recurring character. Love him, love the eppy, loved everything. Excellent Halloween episode, without ghosts or ghouls, but with an X-files flavor. Good quips: "You were saying, Agent Mulder?" Good touching moments, too, not too corny. The giving of the chain and locket was perfectly delivered, without saccharine. Great interaction between Don and Sinclair. All in all, the best episode so far. I hope they keep up the good work throughout the whole season. Kudos, boys! Kudos! Bye for now!moreless

Don and the team investigate a decommissioned air force base that might have the been the site of potential UFO activity.

Great episode this season has been great so far. If it's the last season, they really couldn't have done it any better. The absence of Larry maybe for good?

Amita and Charlie getting married. The father accepting Amita as the daughter he'd never had. Don thinking about maybe leaving the FBI.

This episode could have been crap. The intro playing with a possible UFO encounter was merely just bait for the viewer for an episode that was about ambition, government bureaucracy, cover-ups, covert operations, greed, science, and extremely off kilter characters.Enter Floyd Mayborne, John Michael Higgins aiding Don and team on behalf of Pentagon. Higgins might be the most memorable guest star this season. An extremely memorable performance incorporating arrogance, weirdness, strength, spontaneity (with him "materializing" at different times), and humor. Higgins has a long acting resume, and he really understands the material and makes it his own. The writing in the episode was exceptional. The writing for this show is always at a decent if not high level.The interactions with Floyd, Charlie, and the team stole a lot of attention away from the real investigation here, but it was so much fun to watch.The investigation results were interesting. They didn't arrive at a simple suspect, or a simple answer and try to think light of the audience. The answer was realistic and made sense.It did have the feel of a big episode like a Season Finale, so an all around great episode.moreless

X-tremely entertaining episode

Numb3rs rarely manage to go above and beyond, at least not anymore, but this episode was a series classic.

I have never been a fan of X-files, but this episode's creativity on the X-Filey theme was absolutely brilliant. The guest appearing Department 44 guy was the best guest appearing character I have seen in quite a while, in any show.

The case of the episode was interesting enough, the drama parts about life choices and direction was a nice touch and we was not overwhelmed with useless math.I can't remember anytime being this satisfied when a Numb3rs episode just have passed by. Perfect.moreless

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (3)

There is actually no criminal in this episode. As the episode reaches conclusion, the only fault that NEOX scientists have are overconfidence to accomplish an extremely high-risk project in such a small amount of time.

ALLUSIONS (1)

Floyd Mayborne: And they would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids.

Mayborne's comment at the episode's conclusion echoes the famous refrain of villains captured in the 1969 cartoon Scooby Doo, Where Are You! about four mystery-solving teenagers and their Great Dane. Characters from Scooby Doo were also referenced expressly earlier in the episode.

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